me that that is aerm to reference the way back of the station wagon. >> i call at the way back. >> i'm going to videotape a fight between you and will cain and upload it. >> the first presidential debate is on tonight on cnn 7:00 pm eastern. complete analysis obviously tomorrow morning right here on "starting point" at 7:00 am. "cnn newsroom" with carol costello starts right now. carol? >> thank you, soledad. tale of the tapes emerge on the eve of the debate. they're designed to stir controversy. is anything really new here? new this morning, more trouble for american airlines. after seats come loose on three other airlines. wisconsin tv anchor takes on a viewer who call heard fat. >> that attacks like this are

not okay. >> hear the advice she gives to children being bullied. and celebrating like an nhl star, junior hockey player scores a goal. instead of bouncing off the glass, he crashes right through it. "newsroom" starts now. good morning to you. thank you so much for joining us. i'm carol costello. the countdown is on. first presidential debate 12 hours away. it's quiet now in magnus arena in denver. later it will provide the backdrop for what could be a game changer. as the candidates continue to prepare, a tape surfaces, one that "the daily caller" bills as obama's other race speech. a clip. >> quiet riots that take place every day are born from the same place as the fires and destruction and the police decked out in riot gear.

this they happen when a sense of disconnect settles in and hope dissipates. despair takes hold in young people all across the country, look at the way the world is and believe that things are never going to get better. >> reality check. this tape is not new. it was an open press event recorded in its entirety in 2007. many media outlets, including cnn, extensively covered it. even tucker carlson himself covered it in 2007. >> barack obama was talking about a quiet riot today. it was not a reference to '80s heavy metal band unfortunately. the senator waded into the controversial waters of race at a university in virginia. done little to quell a brewing storm. compared it to what fueled the l.a. riots. >> tucker carlson worked for

msnbc back in the day. even the headline in 2007, obama, quiet riot, could erupt like l.a. riots. editorial director of the nation national, welcome, ron. desperate from that 47% thing, is this tape important in any way? >> reporter: i think probably not very significant for several reasons. you point out one of them. this was hardly a secret tape. it's in the tape library of most of the networks, including cnn. it was a publicly covered event. it was discussed not only with tucker but on fox. abc talked about it. two other points maybe more important than the fact that it was widely shared, what he said is not that remarkable for a democratic politician, in particular, white or black. the idea that an absence of opportunity and kind of sense of hopelessness contributes to a

lack of structure and lawlessness in inner city community sincere not some radical notion, even at the time. more importantly than that, this election -- i think the overwhelming evidence is that voters want this to be a forward-looking election. that's part of the problem that romney and the rks have had, they want it to be a retrospective referendum on the first term. the voters are looking to see who will be better for the next four years? that pattern seems kind of incredible. >> that said, i can't imagine that romney will bring this up overtly but could he subtly use this in the debate? >> reporter: i don't know. i honestly don't think he's going to go there himself. this is the kind of thing that happens by outside groups or outside activists and the reality is, this is an intensely racially polarized country. barack obama will probably win somewhere around the votes of 80% of all minority voters, growing share of the electorate,

but only 40% of white voter. it will be a real challenge after this election to try to bring the country together to govern. he was the first candidate ever to lose white business double digits and win. there is a racial element that is in the backdrop here. not necessarily racism, but very different views about the role of government and very different views about the parties. if it moves things at the margin, could it matter? sure. the last slice of voter also decide this they are forward looking at this point. and 2007 is a long way to reach back when you're dealing with 8% unemployment. >> ron brownstein, thank you so much. the debate is not just stressful for the candidates but also for their wives. both michelle obama and ann romney are talking about their role in the debates. first lady says she mostly offers positive reinforcement but does get nervous. >> i get so nervous at these debates and, you know, i'm like one of those parents watching their kid on the balance beam.

you're just standing there, just trying not to, you know, have any expression at all. >> ann romney says she comforts her husband during the debates and he looks for her in the audience. she talked up one of mitt's traditions, too. >> the first thing he does when he gets on stage -- there are a few first things he does. he takes off his watch and put it is on the podium. but then he writes dad on a piece of paper. >> says her husband respects had his father and wants to make him proud. tonight's debate begins at 7:00 pm eastern. our affiliate knov says flight 1862 left for dallas yesterday but had to return because of landing gear problems. passengers say people were crying when the flight crew told passengers to prepare for an emergency landing. >> they said the landing gear --

okay, the wheel might like break or, you know, you just don't know what's going to happen. it was really, really scary. >> this comes after three recent american flights had seats come loose while the plane was in flight. pilots were concerned that those loose seats could become projectiles. what's the airline saying this morning about all of these problems? >> carol, we're talking about one plane where this happened twice, on two separate flights. we're talking about passengers who started the flight on one row. and by the time that plane landed they found themselves in the row back behind them. it was a real safety issue. then it happened again on another plane with passengers on board. american airlines says that they found the problem. these clamps that were put on backwards, put on improperly. and they are working to fix it. take a listen. >> engineers, crew chiefs who have gone in and believe -- they've determined what they

believe is a potential failure, but beyond a failure, we're focusing our attention on -- >> the focus has been on the 757s, nearly half of the 757s that american flies. they inspected 36 of those planes and have 11 more planes to inspect. they found six planes with the same problem, including the two i mentioned earlier, where the seats could come loose. >> you talk about a clamp, the clamp holds the seat to the floor of the plane and supposedly -- >> for some reason that was backwards. >> that's why it came loose? >> yes. >> they checked all their planes out and solve this had problem. many people are wondering, is it safe to fly american? the people on the flight we talked about earlier, they were crying when the pilot said we had to make an emergency landing. >> we talked to passengers at laguardia in new york and said we will continue to fly the airline. the problem they have is the ongoing labor dispute. as you know, it's been a long,

contentious labor dispute. at one point american airlines blamed the pilots association for causing all of these delays that have dogged the airline. of course, the union disagreed with that. some interesting timing on the story, carol, just as this big news broke yesterday with these loose seats we got word that the apa is going to resume negotiations with american airlines. i want to read a statement from american airlines where they say we are committed to working with the apa and we're pleased that we have jointly agreed to resume negotiations this week. so, carol, a bit of good news after a rough week with american airlines. >> george howell, thanks so much. manhunt under way for the killer of a border patrol agent, nicholas ivy was shot dead after he responded to a sensor going off in southern arizona near the border of mexico. a second agent was wounded but is expected to survive. fbi now investigating. ivy is the third border patrol agent to die in the line of duty this year. >> i'm just in shock right now.

nick was the most tenderhearted, kind, gentle, loving person you would ever meet. >> >> ivie left behind a wife and two daughters. need a sign that the economy is picking up? belly up to the bar. beer sales are up for the first time since 2008. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange. is this a bellwether? >> it is, just like lipstick. lipstick sales went up during the recession. they couldn't spend big on other things. beer is a great indicator. it looks like young men seem to be pushing up beer sales. brewers have said that beer sales have struggled over the past few years because young, blue-collared guys were hit hard by the the recession. now there's a recovery. unemployment rate is falling for

men in their 20s. more jobs means more money to spend. wall street journal says beer sales are actually up 2% this year, following three years of decline. it really say fun way of looking at the economy, of how beer is affected by the way the economy is doing. overall -- you're laughing. overall it's typically considered recession proof. it's cheap. but for $8 or $9, you can get a nice six pack at home without breaking the bank. and president obama also has a home brewing kit. all sorts of ways to drink your beer. >> i like when you say it's a fun way of looking at the economy. >> make it fun and entertaining. >> we'll have a brew after the show. thank you so much, alison kosik. epic smackdown and a star is born. jennifer livingston in lacrosse, wisconsin, had more than a few choice words for a fan who criticized her weight. that fan wrote, quote, obesity is one of the worst choices a person can make. then he advised livingston to

reconsider your responsibility to present and promote a healthy lifestyle. livingston responded speaking directly to that man who sent her that e-mail. his name is kenneth crouse. >> do you think i don't know that, that your cruel words are pointing out something that i don't see? you don't know me. you are not a friend of mine. you are not part of my family and you have admitted that you don't watch this show. so you know nothing about me but what you see on the outside. and i am much more than a number on a scale. >> livingston says the e-mail was hurtful but is more concerned about children who are bullied by such comments. >> but what really angers me about this is there are children who don't know better, who get e-mails as critical as the one i receive received or, in many cases, even worse each and every day. the internet has become a weapon.

our schools have become a battleground. listen to me right now. do not let your self worth be defined by bullies. learn from my experience, that the cruel words of one are nothing compared to the shouts of many. >> okay. so the fan, mr. crouse, responded again -- not to apologize but instead offered this he hopes she will, quote, take advantage of a rare and golden opportunity to influence the health and psychological well-being of the coulee region children by transforming herself over the next year. end quote. livingston made the rounds on the network morning shows and we'll hear from her in the next hour. style substance or something else completely? what you, the voter, want to hear at tonight's debate. a speed bump!

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is identifying targets in libya for possible military action. after last month's deadly u.s. consulate attack that killed four americans, including the ambassador, senior official says no list has been filed. 11 remain in the hospital and two have died after contracting meningitis from steroid injections. they all received the injections from a medical facility shown here in nashville, tennessee. that facility has within closed and will remain shut down until an investigation is completed. turning to the economy, new data from payroll firm adp shows the private sector added 162,000 jobs last month. while that beats forecasts, it is a slowdown from august. adp data is closely watched as it is released just before the government's jobs report, due out this friday.

and the economy will be a key focus for political junkies, pundits and the undecideds, all whom will likely be glued to their tvs tonight during the first face-off between president obama and mitt romney. voters will be looking to the candidates for less spin and for more of what my next guest calls, quote, blunt new england style honesty. paul wescott joins us now from new hampshire, host of the paul wescott show on wgin. hi, paul. >> good morning. >> do you think the candidates will deliver? >> we all hope so. honestly, it really is about having an honest conversation and making sure that they actually get down to brass tax as opposed to the thousands upon thousands of ads we've been showered with here in the state over the past year. that's really, at the end of the day, what people are looking for, real solutions, ideas and how do we get that back to the

state of the country. >> you don't want to hear zingers? >> it's fun for me, i'm a radio talk show host but for voters they're looking for mitt romney to be tough, for the president to be tough. i think at the end of the day they want solutions. >> recent poll shows president obama up a stun ing stunning 15. is that what you're seeing and hearing on the show? >> not really. our guest yesterday was blunt and called it garbage. when you're talking about that kind of poll, we call it an outlyer here in new hampshire, 15-point lead for the president is pretty obscure. it's much, much closer than that, much closer to the four to seven points that the president has been ahead since the

convention. >> high profile, viral videos in roent weeks, one featuring mitt romney talking about the 47%, the other a 2007 video showing president obamab talking about race, the reverend wright and hurricane katrina. what are voters telling you? are these videos resonating? >> these voters are so worn down not only from the primary here in the state of new hampshire but over the past several months with the attack ads, back and forth, i don't know that they recognize either of the candidates if they weren't in slow motion in black and white. at the end of the day, i think what the voters are looking for is unless it's an extremely radical video, showing something -- even the 47% video which seemed to resonate with a lot of the country, that wasn't as big of a deal here in new hampshire. what people are looking for is what their solution is for jobs, the economy and things that are more substantive than viral videos unless it's, as i said,

something really extreme. >> we'll look forward to some answers, honest answers. paul westcott, thank you. -[ taste buds ] donuts, donuts! -who are these guys? -oh, that's just my buds. -bacon. -my taste buds. -[ taste buds ] donuts. how about we try this new kind

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one of the big stories of the day, the question for you this morning, what would you ask the candidates in tonight's debate? have you seen those upclose and personal ads just releed by president obama and governor mitt romney, the ones where they attempt to cut through the noise and speak directly to you? >> we shouldn't measure compassion by how many people are on welfare. we should measure compassion by how many people are able to get off welfare and get a good-paying job. >> if i could sit down with you in your living room or around the kitchen table, here is what i would say. when i took office, we were losing nearly 800,000 jobs a month and were mired in iraq. as a nation, we are moving forward again. >> president obama sitting around the kitchen table? okay. we would like to turn that idea on its head. what if you could moderate tonight's debate?

the topics are endless, from health care to immigration, whatever else you could think of to ask the candidates. you have 90 minutes to moderate the debate. what would you ask the candidates? your responses later this hour. hundreds of pastors from across america will get explicitly political from the pulpit this weekend. they actually want the irs to make them pay taxes. [ male announcer ] the freedom and spirit of malibu is an awesome place to be. introducing the all-new 2013 chevrolet malibu eco. ♪ sophisticated new styling, the fuel-saving intelligence of eassist, 37 mpg highway, and up to 580 highway miles on a single tank of gas. ♪ the all-new 2013 chevrolet malibu eco. ♪ it has everything to put you in the malibu state of mind no matter what state you live in. ♪

coming up on 30 minutes past the hour, good morning to you. i'm carol costello. in the newsroom, we're about one minute away from the opening bell at the new york stock exchange. stock futures are up after a

better than expected jobs report from payroll processor adp. the labor department's monthly jobs report is due on friday. soil taken last week from a metro detroit home does not contain any human remains. police were searching the area after getting a tip that a body was buried there, a day after former teamsteres leader jimm o hoffa disappeared. starfish that feed on coral. most of the damage is from the starfish and tropical cyclones. first presidential debate will be taking place tonight at the university of denver. obama campaign, the romney campaign and the media all gearing up for tonight. cnn's political director, mark preston, has a behind-the-scenes look. >> as you can see, reporters from around the world are

setting up to cover this debate. 3,000 in total. 700 of them are coming from other countries. so let's head inside where the action is going to take place. you might be wondering, who is actually going to be sitting in the audience tonight for the first presidential debate? i don't know the answer, but peter eyre does. >> at university of denver we'll have students, vips and those that the campaigns have invited down on the floor and some up in the balcony behind us. >> reporter: how do you get invited to this debate if you don't get an invitation from one of the candidates? >> it would be very difficult to get into the debate. >> reporter: who will be at that far podium? >> governor romney and then at the near podium will be president obama. >> reporter: how is it going to work? who will get the first question? >> the first question will be directed to president obama. he will have two minutes to respond. then governor romney will have two minutes to respond to that same question.

>> reporter: how is this all going to work in this 90-minute debate format? >> six segments will really encourage detailed discussion about topics and mr. lair will try to facilitate an in-depth discussion and focus on the details. >> reporter: this riser right here is where all the technical magic happens. we'll be broadcasting the debate. where candy crowley will be sitting and as she gives her analysis about what she expects to see tonight. if you wonder where i'm going to be tonight? i'm sitting in my seat right here, in the press center where hundreds of journalists will be here tonight, reporting on the debate. there are tv monitors set up all across this plait place. and in a sign of the times it looks like mitt romney has his own tv studio set up, probably a place where they can put guests out to do interviews with local television stations across the country. it's also a place where they'll be watching the debate, not to be outdone, right here behind

the red curtain, it looks like barack obama has the same kind of setup. these two studios butt up against what we call the spin room, where we'll see surrogates and the top campaign officials that will come after the debate and try to tell us why they think their candidate won. >> fascinating. mark preston is in denver right now. hey, mark, the candidates will have one final walk through before they take to the stage tonight. right? >> reporter: yeah, they certainly will. what's really interesting, carol, is that this is taking place in the important state of colorado, where there's nine electoral votes on the line. the first presidential debate here at the university of den r denver, but also happens to be in a state that they are fighting very hard for. >> mark preston, thanks for a look backstage. it's fascinating. the debate begins at 7:00 pm eastern. be sure to join us. preaching politics from the pulpit. why they are daring the irs to interfere. that's next. so we invented a wg

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this weekend, hundreds of pastors across the country plan on giving explicitly political sermons and may even endorse a candidate. if it sounds like a violation of separation of church and state, it is meant to be. they will be sending recordings of those sermons to the irs. senior pastor of skyline wesleyan church. welcome, pastor. >> thank you. good to be here. >> to take away your tax exempt status. tell us why. >> the johnson amendment took away freedom of speech, freedom of religion. our belief is that there should be a separation of church and state that you eluded to. there should be no government intrusion into the pulpit at

all. in 194 54, that changed, taking away 166 years of pulpit freedom. we've been trying to restore that and see the johnson amendment taken to court and be unconstitutional based on the first amendment. in hopes of seeing a court case so that the johnson amendment can officially be thrown out and pastors can, once again, have their first amendment rights back. >> will you endorse a candidate during your sermon this sunday? >> i plan on doing exactly that. what we're saying is that's the freedom of the pastor. fes taes up to them. that's a receipt that we v we're simply saying we're trying to reclaim what was lost. 501-c, only one category has a speech restriction put on it, 501-c-3, which happens to be churches. lyndol banes johnson his aide

would acknowledge that they never had churches in mind. they were aimed at two businessmen that had 501-c-3s. it swept in churches and they didn't intend for it to apply to churches. >> the irs has a whole different view than you. they say you'll lose because tax exemption is a privilege. and our government separates government and religion. why not preach politics outside of church? why is it so important to preach politics from the pulpit? >> the constitution gives me that right, number one. number two, i don't call it political. i have that biblical. >> you don't have the right in this country, according to the laws of our land. >> that's incorrect. >> you don't have the right to endorse a candidate in church. >> no, it's never been taken to court. for 58 years they've been trying to provoke it to court to see if it's constitutional or not. it's not gotten there. there have been many, many attempts. if it's all that

unconstitutional, let's get it to court and decide. the pastor should be able to speak on biblic al topics. freedom of religion and freedom of speech. >> if you feel so strongly that your political voice should be heard, why not give up your tax exempt status? why challenge the irs this way? >> well, take that up with thomas jeffersonnd benjamin franklin. they said there should be true separation of church and state. that means that would include such a thing as tax exemption. supreme court would later say if the government can tax a church, it can control it and manipulate it. most people would not want their pastors to be controlled and manipulated by the state even in the arena of speech restriction as well. that's why we're making the case. it's time to take this to court and see if it's constitutional or not. 2,200 attorneys of the alliance freedom contend that it is, in fact, unconstitutional.

>> can't you preach politics outside of church? you can say whatever you want to outside of church. why not gather your congregation at a restaurant somewhere and endorse whoever you're going to endorse for president? >> on what basis would you deny me the right as a pastor to be able to speak on any topic i want to from my pulpit? do we need pulpit police now to monitor what 300,000 pastors are saying in america? i'm simply saying a pastor should be able to if they want to. if they don't want to, they don't have tochlt it's their church and their pulpit. >> if you get the irs to take you to court, would you be willing to lose your tax exempt status to have this -- >> the pastors that are speaking out are willing to be taken to court because they're convinced and the attorneys are convinced that the johnson amendment is unconstitutional. >> are you willing to lose your tax exempt status? >> i'm certainly willing to go to court. it may result in tax exempt status lost. no pastor or church would want that. we're willing to take the risk to go to court and find out whether it is or not. >> just a final thought, when i

go to church, i want to hear about how to be a better person. i don't want to hear about politics that's so partisan and vile on both sides. i want to be comforted. i don't want to be told how to vote. >> well, i think that's your privilege. you ought to go to church that does exactly that. we're saying that that is also your privilege as it is a pastor's privilege not to speak on any of the above topics. if, for example, the pastors in europe and germany at a particular time did not speak out against hitler, how god was that? how did that work out for us? we think that a pastor should have the right to speak out, if they so desire. that's what freedom of religion and freedom of speech is about. this is conservative, liberal, pastor of any kind of church anywhere where the first amendment applies. >> pastor garlow, thanks for joining us this morning. >> good to be with you. thank you. smashing success on the ice. goal scorer jumps for joy, but shatters the glass on the way down.

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45 minutes past the hour. mike mcqueary is file iing a whistleblower suit against the university, claims he was the only assistant football coach not invited to a job interview with the school's new football coach. he was pivotal in the case against jerry sandusky, testifying that he saw sandusky in a shower with a young boy. konv says a flight from st. louis -- to st. louis from dallas returned to dallas with a landing gear problem. taylor cox may have been imitating nhl stars with this goal-scoring celebration. there he goes. ooh! but now he knows that not all rinks are the same.

cox jumped up on the glass and the glass shattered. he was not hurt by the fall and even continued celebrating. less than 12 hours to go until the first presidential debate. the stage is set and the candidates are hunkered down right now, working on their debate strategies. they took a break yesterday, though. president obama visited the hoover dam and mitt romney went to a denver area chipotle restaurant. cnn contributors ana navaro, who leans right. i found it interesting, ana, that the candidates where they went yesterday. mitt romney went to a chipotle restaurant, was there any symbolism in that? >> let me give a shout out to chipotle. i think they have great food. maybe the guy was just hungry. >> maybe so. though he did pose with all those middle class workers.

maria, the hoover dam, why? >> carol, i don't know. maybe president obama wanted to have an image that he's the one who can actually continue to stop the bleeding in terms of what the middle class is going through. so maybe that's what he was going for. >> he can put his finger in the dyke and stop the bleeding. >> searching for the middle class, somewhere under the dam. >> thanks to republican policy. exactly right. >> i needed a laugh today. thank you for making me laugh. let's talk about joe biden. he made comments yesterday about the middle class being buried. let's listen. >> this is deadly earnest. how they can justify, how they can justify raising taxes on the middle class that's been buried the last four years. how in lord's name can they justify raising their taxes with these tax cuts?

>> of course, joe biden went on to clarify. but, ana, paul ryan wasted no time, seizing on those comments. good strategy? >> look, you know, i love joe biden. i don't know how every republican in america doesn't love joe biden. he is a great guy. he's fun. he is the gift that keeps on giving. i miss joe biden. we hadn't heard a gaffe from good old joe in about two or three weeks. it really had been a long time. this is what the campaigns are like today in 2012, unfortunately. we look for gaffes on each other and try to make them real big. i think when joe starts getting earnest, when he starts getting righteous and starts talking about god, watch out, because a zinger is coming out. >> speaking of zingers, the debate spoet supposedly is going to be all about zingers. i can see mitt romney taking that line. i would. maria? >> the problem with that, though, carol, is that if you know joe biden and what he has

done in his career, he has actually been one of the strongest spokespersons for the middle class and for working americans. and if you look at what he said, if you look at it in context, he clearly is talking about how the middle class has been buried due to the prior eight years of failed republican policies that, by the way, president obama and joe biden continue to underscore. and this is exactly why paul ryan wants to focus on these comments as opposed to their own policies. because their own policies, mitt romney's and paul ryan's, would continue to bury the middle class the way the prior eight years had because they'll be the same exact policies. >> see how long that took to explain, though? that's a democrat to me. republicans are so succinct. >> let me give you some straight talk. in today's politics, nobody looks at anything in context. you look at sound bites. and so, you know, very good politicians have to learn, peoplerunning for office have to learn to speak in a way that they don't provide ammunition that can then be used against

them. and, you know, this is the type of thing that in a 30-second ad could be very effective. >> and that's exactly right. and that's why the republicans have been so hurt by the 47% that it is all about. >> we have to talk about our lady parts now. >> okay. >> this story -- >> yea. >> yea. >> this story is number one on cnn.com. the obama campaign posted an ecard referencing lady parts. vote like your lady parts depend on it. this went viral. some people think that's so crass, it has been taken down since. maria, your thoughts. >> look, my understanding is that this was an outside video that made it on to the tumbler feed. and the process that they use to essentially take these things down didn't work. as soon as they caught it, they took it down. look, lighten up. a while ago on cnn.com i wrote an op-ed piece about how the republicans, with all of their issues focusing on women's health, would do well to stay

away from pandora and especially her box. so, come on. >> yeah. anna, lighten up, get a sense of humor. >> listen, nobody has accused me of not having one, but one of the things they accuse most republicans of is, you know, being somewhere in the last century, and i would tell you that this is what that card reflects. i haven't heard -- it took me a while to understand what lady parts were because i haven't heard that term in anything but old time black and white movies. >> oh, anna, maria, talk to anna. maria, anna, thank you so much. >> that's not what we call them in nicaragua, carol. >> nor colombia. >> i can't talk about lady parts any longer. it is too embarrassing. today's talk back question. we know what you wouldn't ask the candidates in tonight's debate, but what would you ask. your response is next.

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overmany discounts to thine customers! [old english accent] safe driver, multi-car, paid in full -- a most fulsome bounty indeed, lord jamie. thou cometh and we thy saveth! what are you doing? we doth offer so many discounts, we have some to spare. oh, you have any of those homeowners discounts? here we go. thank you. he took my shield, my lady. these are troubling times in the kingdom. more discounts than we knoweth what to do with. now that's progressive.

talk back question today, what would you ask the candidates in tonight's debate, this from daniel. how are you making sure i can get the college education i need without being in debt for the rest of my life? this from hadei. how do you think you can stop the gridlock in congress. mr. romney, please elaborate when you speak of the 47%. who exactly are you talking about? inquiring minds want to know. this from steve, mr. president, you said you would have the deficit and have a plan to pay down our debt within your first term and you haven't donso. so why should we trust you to keep your promise in your second term. from joe, to both, when will either of you stop worrying about your parties and start worrying more about our nation? facebook.com/carolcnn. keep the conversation going.

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today is the last day of baseball's regular season. we know all the playoff teams, but not all the division winners. the oakland a's and texas rangers play today to decide the a.l. west champs. the a's won last night to pull into a tie for a top of the division. oakland was 13 games back of texas on june 30th. the a's clinched a wild card spot. the baltimore orioles are assured of a wild card game, but they want more. chris davis hit a home run. his sixth straight game. and the o's held on to beat tampa bay 1-0. the yankees beat boston 4-3 in 12 innings. raul ibanez had the game winning hit after tying it with a homer in the bottom of the ninth. if the yankees win or the orioles lose tonight, new york captures the a.l. east.

that's eye look at sports. the next hour of "cnn newsroom" starts right now. happening right now, 11 hours and counting until president obama and mitt romney meet here for first presidential debate. it will actually only be the fourth time the two men have met face to face. this debate could be a game changer. standing up to a bully, a tv anchor takes on a viewer who called her fat. see what she's saying this morning. another drama filled day for american airlines. why the embattled carrier was forced to make not one, but two emergency landings. from the queen of talk to a country princess, we'll tell you which hollywood ladies bring in the big bucks. "newsroom" starts now. good morning to you.

i'm carol costello. thank you so much for being with us this morning. all is quiet. the first presidential debate is set to take place in just about 11 hours. you know, looks almost serene here, but you can still -- you can see all the work that went into setting the stage for tonight's debate. when it comes to the things we remember most about these debates, it is all about the tiny little details. little things like remember ron paul's oversized suits or michele bachmann's military style dress? it is those kinds of details that fortunately or unfortunately leave lasting impressions. frank faringcoff co-chairs the commission on presidential debates. he joins me now and he helps figure out not those details but many other details. welcome. >> good morning, carol. >> are you exhausted? >> no, no, no. we're just full of anticipation. you -- there are so many technical details that have to be done. we have a great staff, a staff

with us for many, many years. they're very, very experienced. we're just anxious to get this one behind us because we have three more to follow. >> so tell us about those tiny technical details. what is the weirdest decision that you have to make? >> well, i think the weirdest decision we ever had to make took place in one of the first debates that we did at ucla, back in 1988, because of the height difference between michael dukakis, the democratic nominee and george herbert walker bush who is four or five inches taller than him. we to build a bubble in front of the podium for governor dukakis to stand on so he would appear relatively the same height. it is little things like that that we have to deal with. >> tell us about a little thing like that as far as this debate. the podium or the temperature in the room. >> well, you know, we try to keep the temperature at 65 degrees. i always tell my wife and daughters when they come, bring a pashmina because the hall is

very, very cold. has to be with the lights and cameras. we try to keep it there. sometimes it varies. the podiums will always be the same size for the men and women who participate in these debates. and so, you know, we sit down, we work with the staff of our professional staff and then they -- each of the candidates also has a staff that is here. we walk them through, showing how things will go. as you know, we'll take both candidates through this afternoon. one on one, they'll walk through the facilities, we show them where they're going to stand this evening, where their family will be, shoot them with the seven camera angles, a lot of details that are produce fect s deal with to make sure they're please pleased. >> how do you decide who enters from stage right or stage left? >> we flip a coin. the president will be introduced first, he'll get the first question. he'll also get the first wrap-up at the end of the debate and

governor romney will have the last wrap-up. you know, we do things as clearly and as transpareapparen and as fairly as we can. >> optics are so important and lighting is important. do you discuss all of that? the men have very different skin tones and you want to look fantastic when you're on live television. >> we'll leave that to the makeup artists. we don't get into that. we pretty much, as i said, we have a very, very professional team that have been with us for many, many years. we don't get down to that level with the candidates. though back in 1984, it was a very, very dramatic difference. roger ales was then advising president bush, excuse me, president reagan and he noticed some shadows that appeared because of the lighting and adjustments were made. so what happens is in all of these debates, we'll listen if the candidates necessarily want to make a change, has to be fair to both sides. i think we know what we're doing at this point and time. this will be our 23rd debate we

have done at the commission. >> i'm sure you do. i watched many debates and they all looked terrific. thanks so much for joining this morning. thank you. just hours before the first debate, both candidates took a break from their intense preparation. the president made an unexpected stop at the hoover dam about a half hour drive from where he's been practicing. it is his first visit to the hoover dam and he called it spectacular. mitt romney took a break to visit a chipotle restaurant in denver with senator rob portman. portman is playing obama in the mock debates. dana bash is following the romney campaign. dan lothian is with the obama campaign. did i say dana you're following the romney campaign? let's start with you, dana bash, you're in washington. what do you got? >> i have been looking into and reporting on some of romney's debate preps. you're right, carol. you mentioned that romney was with gop senator rob portman. i got to tell you, it is

surprising that romney wants to hang out with portman still since he has been playing president obama. by all accounts in the mock debates, portman has been very, very tough on romney, to prepare him for the real thing. portman is the go-to guy for republicans for debate prep. he's worked with republican candidates since 2000 and i spoke with senator portman in an exclusive interview about what he does to prepare to prepare romney. >> how they're likely to express themselves, what the body language is going to be like, try to imitate the person, but you try to give a fair presentation, you know to whoever you're working with as to what they're likely to do. >> now, portman and romney's other members of his inner cile have been doing mock debates with him on and off for about a month. he had his first round of debate boot camp at mock debates in vermont during the democratic convention and he's had it several other times, i'm told, in boston and other places. so certainly has been a very, very intense preparation for mitt romney and one he's never

had before because he had lots of debates during the primaries, carol, but never sat down and did the mock debates before this. >> okay, this will be interesting to see what happens tonight. dana bash reporting live for us this morning. dan lothian is in denver, following the obama campaign. what has the president done for final preparations? >> well, he will be, this morning, going through the briefing books again, doing some final preparations and as you heard earlier, doing a walk-through later this afternoon of the venue. but the bulk of the work has happened over the last couple of days as a president was in nevada, which is, of course, a key battleground state, going through the debate camp. senator john kerry playing the role of governor romney. that's good for two reasons at least for the obama campaign because he knows mitt romney very well, coming from the state of massachusetts, but also is veteran debater himself. he's been helping the president out. now, the thing that we'll be watching for is what the real

push will be from the obama campaign. and the romney campaign tonight in terms of their overall theme. as you know, it is all about domestic policies, so they're talking about the economy, about health care, about the role of government, what the president will do, according to top campaign aides is say, yes, look, the economy still has a long way to go. but it is in a much better place than it was and it is heading in the right direction. mitt romney will say that the president has had time to fix the economy, and there has been a lot of broken promises. so that's what we'll expect from both of the candidates as they take on each other tonight during the first debate. >> dan lothian reporting live from denver, cnn's live debate coverage starts tonight, 7:00 p.m. eastern. tonight's debate features the men who want to be commander in chief. vice president joe biden may find himself in the spotlight, thanks to some comments he made on the campaign trail. >> the middle class was buried by the policies of romney and

that ryan supported. as bill clinton said, all they're suggesting now when he's asked about this and he's the best, he made the comment, he said, what they're proposing is bush economic policies on steroids. that's what this is. >> as you might have guessed, republicans seized on the comments with biden's rival, wisconsin congressman paul ryan saying the vice president seemed to have taken a page out of the republican nominee's playbook. >> he was taking my speech, you know what, we agree. the middle class has been buried over the last four years, they're being buried by obama care, being buried by borrowing, by taxes, by spending, by more regulations, by all the uncertainties that is plaguing business and the way to fix this is by electing mitt romney. >> a debate is scheduled for october 11th.

a brutal week for american airlines. flight 1862 left dallas for st. louis yesterday, only to return due to landing gear problems. passengers say people were crying when the flight crew told them to prepare for an emergency landing. >> we got a right -- not a gear unsafe light, unsafe in the on position, looks like we might have a door hanging on the right side. >> 1862 understood, do you require the equipment? >> stand by on tt. in the gear down position, everything looks satisfactory so we'll get back to you on that. >> that flight landed later in st. louis. a separate american airlines flight from chicago to london was also forced to make an unscheduled landing in ireland after a passenger smelled smoke. those incidents just the latest in a series of problems for american airlines, which recently reported problems with loose seats on two planes during three separate flights.

and that's also last week. pilots were concerned the loose seats could have become projectiles. the head of american airlines safety and maintenance division says installation problems are to blame and that the airline is moving forward to correct the problem. >> they're engineers, tech crew chiefs, they have gone in, they believe what -- they have determined what they believe is the -- is a potential failure, but beyond the failure we're focusing our attention on making sure they're properly installed. >> the federal aviation administration says it is now investigating american in the wake of those loose seat issues. some better news for home owners. the housing market taking a turn for the better. it is positive. that's according to an exclusive cnn money survey. alison kosik has been following the story from the floor of the new york stock exchange. hi, alison. >> could it be?

the housing recovery could really be taking hold, especially when you hear what these 14 economists in this cnn money survey say. nine say home prices are higher or will turn higher this year. just a few months ago only seven economists thought that. they're more confident now. home prices have actually gone up over the past three months. in this chart we're about to show you, you can see the small increase on the right of the screen. what that means is that we found a bottom with the housing market. other factors as well, sales of homes are picking up, home construction is rebounding. mortgage rates are also at record lows and that, of course, hopefully can encourage more buying. carol? >> we hope so. alison kosik at the new york stock exchange, thank you. it was billed as a campaign bombshell, a new secret tape showing president obama making shocking remarks, only problem, not so shocking. and it definitely was not a secret.

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have more fiber than other leading brands. they're the better way to enjoy your fiber. 15 minutes past the hour. checking our top stories now, a manhunt under way for the killer of a border patrol agent. 30-year-old nicholas ivy was shot dead after he was spotted during a sensor going off.

the second agent was wounded, but he's expected to survive. two people have died, 11 others remain in the hospital after contracting noncontagious meningitis from steroid injections. all but one received the injections from a medical facility in nashville. that facility has been closed and will remain shut down until an investigation is completed. turning to the economy now, new data from payroll firm adp shows the private sector added 162,000 jobs last month and while that beats forecasts, it is a slowdown from august. the adp data is closely watched and comes just before the government's jobs report which is due out this friday. parts of north georgia are recovering after heavy rains triggered flooding. water covered several roads and the storms caused power outages. rob says the area will dry out today. and junior hockey player taylor cox may have been imitating a real nhl star with his goal scoring celebration. but now he knows all rinks are

not made the same. he jumped up for joy and then crashed through the glass. he was not hurt. and he even continued celebrating. now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. what would you ask the candidates in tonight's debate? have you seen those -- have you seen those up close and personal campaign ads just released by president obama and mitt romney? you know the ones where they attempt to cut through the noise and speak directly to you. >> we shouldn't measure compassion by how many people are on welfare. we should measure compassion by how many people are able to get off welfare and get a good paying job. >> if i could sit down with you, in your living room or around theitchen table, here's what i'd say. when i took office, we were losing nearly 800,000 jobs a month and were mired in iraq. today, i believe that as a nation we are moving forward again. >> president obama sitting around the kitchen table? ok. we would like to turn that idea

on its head. what if you could moderate tonight's debate. now is your chance. the topics are endless, health care, the deficit, social security, immigration and whatever else you can think of. to ask either candidate, you have 90 minutes to moderate the debate so gloves off. what would you ask the candidates in tonight's debate. facebook.com/carolcnn. facebook.com/carolcnn. your comments later this hour. i'm barack obama and i approve this message. romney: "it's time to stand up to the cheaters"

vo: tough on china? not mitt romney. when a flood of chinese tires threatened a thousand american jobs... itas president obama who stood up to china and protected american workers. mitt romney attacked obama's decision... said standing up to china was "bad for the nation and our workers." how can mitt romney take on the cheaters... when he's taking their side?

it is 21 minutes past the hour. as the candidates continue to prepare for the big debate tonight, a tape surfaces, one that tucker carlson's conservative website the daily caller bills as obama's other race speech. a clip. >> it is quiet riots that take place every day are born from the same place as the fires and the destruction and the police decked out in riot gear and deaths. they happen when a sense of disconnect settles in and hope dissipates. despair takes hold and young people all across the country

look at the way the world is and they believe that things are never going to get better. >> carlson called this a bombshell, but a little reality here, this tape is not new. it was an open press event recorded in its entirety in 2007. and many media outlets including cnn extensively covered it, even tucker carlson himself covered it in 2007 when he worked for msnbc. >> barack obama was talking about a quiet riot today, and it was not a reference to 1980s heavy metal band, unfortunately. the senator waded into the controversial waters of race during a speech at hampton university in virginia. he said the bush administration has done little to quell a brewing storm among some black americans, he compared the current tension to what fueled the l.a. riots. >> in fact, even cnn's headline that day read like this, obama quiet riot could erupt like l.a. riots. joining me to talk about this is the coed terre - editor of moth

magazine, monica bauer. i wondered, you know, your reaction to this video that was kind of like pumped up on the dredge report and then released on the daily caller and then made its way to fox news. just take me through the thought process, as far as you can tell, of this release of this tape. >> well, one of the things i would surmise and obviously i'm not inside the daily caller's operations, is that ever since our mitt romney video made news, everybody else has been looking around for other videos of the candidates appearing in small settings or years ago, being more candid than they might be in the public. and i think we're seeing some of the results as people dig up videos that have not been seen lately. of course, you know, as you pointed out, this particular obama speech was widely covered

at the time, so it is not really the equivalent of, for instance, the video wee released that hadn't been seen before. but everybody is -- >> how would you compare the tapes? >> well, in both cases, you know, we see the candidate being a little more unvarnished than with see them on the campaign trail. the campaign trail persona is that we see are very scripted, very sanitized. what obama is saying in that video doesn't sound nearly as reveltory to me. those are the kinds of things that candidates say during primary campaigns that are a little more passionate and emotional than they are necessarily during the general election. but it is not -- again, it is not really the equivalent of this small group romney video that had him saying things that he would not really be found saying in public. >> it seems like, you know, as campaigns become more and more scripted that sites like yours

and maybe news organizations, they're going to try to find these tapes where the candidate is talking off the cuff. >> well, our site, of course, is a news site. we are all about the journalism. we found this video through the investigative reporting efforts of our d.c. bureau chief david corn and, yes, i think every -- every journalist and every candidate learned or should have learned in 2008 with the makaka moment involving former senator george allen that there is video of everything. if there is more than two people present at a gathering, there is video of it and somebody is going to put it on youtube and find it and post it. >> the 47% thing that appeared on mother jones, i mean, how often do you think president obama will mention that in tonight's debate? >> 47 times? you know, you know, we could not quite have expected the impact it would make, but i think what

it has done is really put mitt romney in a position of debating with himself because at this point people are seeing the romney who is speaking to them on the stump and in tonight's debate and in commercials. and in their heads they're also seeing the man who is speaking to a group of people who paid $50,000 to get in, and they have to make up their minds really which one of them they believe. >> monica baurlein from mother jones, thank you for joining us this morning. we appreciate it. >> it is a pleasure. the coverage starts tonight at 7:00 p.m. eastern. talking about standing up to a bully. this local news anker from wisconsin gave a four-minute smackdown to a nasty fan. my doctor told me calcium

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minutes past the hour. i'm carol costello. thank you for joining us. checking our top stories now. it is debate night in america, less than 11 hours until president obama and governor romney face off with their first presidential debate. cnn's live coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. eastern. turning to the economy, new data from payroll firm adp shows the private sector added 162,000 jobs last month. and while that beat forecasts it a slowdown from august. the adp data is closely watched as it is released just before the government's jobs report, which is due out friday. american airlines says it is now inspecting 47 of its boeing 757s after reports seats came loose on three flights on two planes. at least 36 of those planes have now been inspected. six planes have improperly installed seats. the airline blaming clamps for the problem. tragedy along the arizona border where this man, you see him right behind me, nicholas

ivie became the third border patrol agent to die in the line of duty this year after he was shot and killed. they're searching for a suspect this morning. joe johns joins me now. so, where do things stand in the manhunt? >> reporter: right now this case is still a bigami mystery. ivie and two other border agents were responding to a electronic sensor hit along the border when they started taking fire. ivie was killed. one of the other agents was shot but the injuries do not appear to be serious. a third agent wasn't injured at all. this happened near naco, arizona, about five miles north of the border, right around the area of brian terry station, a place named for border agent brian terry whose death in 2010 near the border put a real spotlight on the federal government's fast and furious gun walking operation that is still being talked about here in washington. but in the ivie investigation so far, authorities don't know what they have got yet. the acting sheriff of cochis.

we was on earlier today and he talked about the terrain they're dealing with. sounds like we don't have that sound. the sheriff also said that cameras on the border did not record the incident because it haened a few miles north of the border. the fbi has pledged its resources to help out on the investigation. nicholas ivie leaves behind a wife and two children. president obama called the family to express concern about the killing and to thank them for ivie's service. >> i just wondered, i mean, authorities will have to search in mexico too. will it get cooperation from the government there? >> reporter: obviously a good question. the mexican government has a cooperation agreement with the united states government. there is also, of course, that big overarching issue of whether all of this is connected to fast and furious. we don't know the answer to whether it is. in the case of brian terry, two

firearms were located at the scene. and traced back to operation fast and furious. in this case, authorities say no firearms were found at the scene. however, that ivie case is attracting attention on the hill. republican senator charles grassley, the point man in the senate on operation fast and furious, put out a letter stating the obvious saying, there is no way to know at this point how the agent was killed, but because of operation fast and furious, we're going to wonder for years if the guns used in the killing along the border were part of an ill advised gun walking strategy. >> joe johns reporting live for us this morning. stars of the hit '80s movie "the princess bride" are planning a reunion for the 25th anniversary. awesome. showbiz headlines next. ♪ ♪ [ man ] excuse me miss. [ gasps ] this fiber one 90 calorie brownie has all the moist, chewy, deliciousness you desire. mmmm.

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she is the tv anchor taking the internet by storm by responding to a viewer who called her fat.

listen to jennifer livingston in la crosse, wisconsin. >> to the person who wrote me that letter, do you think i don't know that? that your cruel words are pointing out something that i don't see? you don't know me. you are not a friend of mine. you are not a part of my family. and you have admitted you don't watch the show. so you know nothing about me, but what you see on the outside. and i am much more than a number on a scale. >> livingston's message to her audience struck a chord, her video went viral and we heard more from the anchor as she made the rounds on the morning tv shows. here she is on cbs talking about why she chose to speak out. >> this was a personal attack, not only on my size, but on my ability to role model our community, and young girls and i'm a mother of three girls and that hit home and i did not think that is fair. that e-mail was well written. it was articulate. but make no mistake about it, it was meant to hurt my feelings.

it was meant to shame me into losing weight. and in my opinion, that's a bully. >> livingston has already received overwhelming support from viewers and co-workers. forbes released its list of the highest paid women in entertainme entertainment. the woman in the top spot won't surprise you much. cnn entertainment correspondent kareen wynter is with us this morning. spill it. >> that's right, carol. she claims the spot year after year. of course, oprah winfrey, she's at the top of the list. according to forbes, while she may not keep the top spot for long, according to estimates, oprah made $165 million between may 2011 and may of this year. giving her an estimated net worth, this is just astonishing, of $2.7 billion. forbes says some of that money came from her now shuttered syndicated talk show and without that income, you'll probably see her drop down the list some. maybe a little bit, next year. though with her cable network and other shows she produces,

shows like dr. phil, they say she'll still make the list, just not the top. britney spears comes in second with an estimated $58 million in income and taylor swift was right behind her at $57 million. so, carol, who knows. one of these young stars may topple oprah next year. but that's going to be a big drop off after oprah because more than $100 million, that's the difference between the first two spots. after a million, really, who's counting? >> wow. that's a shame. let's talk about the princess bride, i love that movie. there will be a reunion? >> that's right. the cast is reuniting in new york to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the film's release. even after 25 years, this movie, it is at least a cult classic. because, yes, this was a kissing book in movie but enough action for the boys with some of the great lines, people actually repeat to this day. and scenes audiences still remember quite vividly, like this one. take a look.

>> hello. my name is montoya. you killed my father. prepare to die. >> gosh. that takes you back. he was on start point talking about the anniversary and here is what he told soledad and the gang. >> no, you know, we had no idea. we just wanted to make the best possible movie we could make and we had a lot of fun doing it. and, you know, you're lucky as an actor if you have any movie that resonates over a period of time and i feel blessed. i still get fan mail from all over the world today. >> carol, i know some people who work on your show, they haven't seen this film yet, which is just a classic blunder. not asad as getting involved in a land war in asia, but at least as bad as going against a s sicilian when death is on the

line. those are all references from the movie for those who haven't seen it. >> you haven't seen the movie, you should rent it. it is just so fun. >> it is amazing. >> it is. >> thanks, carol. first presidential debate is, of course, tonight, and the american dream may play a role. ally bank. why they're always there to talk. i love you, james. don't you love me? i'm a robot. i know. i know you're a robot! but there's more in you than just circuits and wires! uhhh. (cries) a machine can't give you what a person can. that's why ally has knowledgeable people there for you, night and day. ally bank. your money needs an ally. anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. approved! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'.

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coming up on 45 minutes past the hour, checking our top stories, a manhunt continues for the killer of a murdered border agent. u.s. border agent. he's 30-year-old nicholas ivie. he was shot after he responded to a sensor going off in southern arizona near the mexico border. president obama called ivie's family and offered his condolences. a secretaond agent was wounded is expected to survive. reports that seats came loose on three flights in two planes. at least 36 planes have been inspected.

six planes had improperly installed seats. and retail experts predict americans will shell out a little more cash this holiday shopping season. with sales expected to increase more than 4% from a year ago. that's according to the national retail federation which says this is the most upbeat forecast it has made since the recession. first presidential debate of the election is tonight. you know that by now. the obama campaign, the romney campaign and the media getting ready. the debate will take place here at the university of denver. it is the first time we'll see the two men face to face unscripted in fact, an aside for you, these men have seen each other in person four times. the debate isn't just stressful for the presidential candidates it also stressful for their wives. michelle obama and ann romney are talking about their role tonight. first lady says she offers mostly positive reinforcement but does get nervous.

>> i get so nervous at these debates. and, you know, i'm like one of those parents watching their kid on the balance beam, you're just standing there just trying not to, you know, have any expression at all. >> i wonder if in your wildest dreams you ever imagined that you would be spending your 20th wedding anniversary on a double date with the romneys. >> yeah, no, i can't say that this would have been the plan 20 years ago. >> that's right. it is the obamas' wedding anniversary tonight. ann romney says she comforts her husband mitt during the debates and he looks for her in the audience. she also tucked up one of mitt's traditions. >> we're there for each other emotionally all the time. in the last 20 debates we did in the primary, i felt that was my most important role. >> so how do you do that? >> you know, it is a cute thing he does, almost after every answer he finds me in the audience, as soon as he get on stage, the first thing he does is takes off his watch and puts

it it on the podium. but then he writes dad on the piece of paper. and that's amazing because he loves his dad, respects his dad, doesn't want to do anything that would not make his father proud. >> people today may be more optimistic about achieving the american dream than just a few years ago or less pessimistic. cnn orc poll asked if people felt they achieved the american dream. about 44% said yes. that is statistically the same as 2010. slightly fewer people said no. and the number of people who said no they will never achieve the american dream has decreased in the past two years. cnn's little director mark preston is in denver. so, does this poll mean anything in light of what is about to take place tonight? >> i think the poll shows that we haven't seen it move, only by a few digits, carol, since 2010.

but ais really disturbing about the poll, less than half of americans think they'll achieve the american dream and more than half americans don't think they'll ever be able to achieve it. so i think that's a little disconcerting especially when you talk about the land of opportunity here in the united states and we're going to hear from the candidates tonight, they're both going to offer their vision about where they think they should be leading the country and have the path for people to reach the american dream. >> let's talk about a couple of more polls. a lot of polls out today. compared to the last few years, fewer registered voters say the government should promote traditional values, dropping from 57% in 2008 to 41% in our latest polling. now, look at number of people who say the government should not favor any set of traditional values. that's increased to 54% from 41% when president obama was elected. so kind of parse that out for us, what does that mean? >> well, you know, i think there

is two reasons why we have seen the numbers go in the other direction. one is i think we're in tough economic times. people are focusing on jobs. they're not focusing on social issues necessarily, not focusing on abortion, not focusing on same sex marriage. they're focusing on the fact they're losing their house and want to get back to work. i think we're seeing the younger generation come of age right now and younger voters certainly a lot of republican voters or conservative voters don't necessarily agree to hold the same values when it comes to social conservative issues as their parents. that's why i think you're seeing the numbers move in that direction. also comes at a time, i can remember when congress was trying to pass an amendment to outlaw -- a federal amendment to outlaw same sex marriage. that was about ten years ago. we're at a point where same sex marriage is being embraced across the country. it comes down to the economy and it comes down to the new generation, carol. >> mark preston reporting live from us from denver. cnn's live debate coverage starts at 7:00 p.m. eastern.

speaking of social values and same sex marriage, chick-fil-a's president has been quiet after comments he made about same sex marriage ignited a firestorm. this morning, we are hearing from him. mr. cathy's original remarks that started the controversy involved his support of the traditional family. he said that he was, quote, guilty as charged in his stance against same sex marriage. he spoke with cnn affiliate wxia at his family's ranch. >> chick-fil-a is focused on families, always been that way, we're a family owned business, we're led by a family and our restaurants are operated by families and we serve millions of families every week at chick-fil-a. we're focused on the family. families are very important to our country, they're very important, i think, to all of us, that we're concerned about being able to hang on to the heritage we have. and we're supporting biblical family and have always been part of that. >> this is first time mr. cathy made any statement since the beginning of the controversy surrounding same sex marriage

and chick-fil-a. seven years between at bats in the big leagues. adam greenberg got to live out his dream last night. he said, hold on. his dream is not over. not yet. if you are one of the millions of men who have used androgel 1%, there's big news. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. it raises your testosterone levels, and... is concentrated, so you could use less gel. and with androgel 1.62%, you can save on your monthly prescription. [ male announcer ] dosing and application sites between these products differ. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or, signs in a woman which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are, or may become pregnant

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today is the last day of baseball's regular season. we know all the playoff teams, but not all the division winners. the oakland a's and texas rangers play today to decide the al west champs. oakland was 13 games back of texas on june 30th. the a's have clinched a wild card spot. the baltimore orioles are also assured of of a wild card game, they want more. here is chris davis. he'll hit a home run. this is the -- this is the -- his -- he's hit a home run in six straight games. the o's beat tampa bay 1-0. baltimore stays one back of the

new york yankees in the american league east. that's because the yankees beat boston 4-3 in 12 innings. raul ibanez had the game winning hit after tieing with a homer at the bottom of the ninth. if the yankees win or orioles lose tonight, new york captures the al east, but if the o's win and the yanks lose, there will be a one-game playoff to decide the division winner. i hope you got that. one more story from the big leagues. adam greenberg went to the plate for first time since 2005. the miami marlins signed greenburg to a one-day contract so he could fulfill a dream. greenberg was hit in the back of the head by a fastball, his only previous time in the majors. greenberg struck out last night, but says he still hopes to be an everyday major leaguer. >> this is the start. this is realizing day one of that dream that i had seven years ago and had as a child. but i never went at this as a publicity stunt. i didn't start this campaign. i didn't ask for it.

>> tops is trading greenberg like a big league player, putting out an adam greenberg marlins baseball cart as part of its 2013 set. that's a look at sports. what would you ask the candidates in tonight's debate? . try this... bayer? this isn't just a headache. trust me, this is new bayer migraine. [ male announcer ] it's the power of aspirin plus more in a triple action formula to relieve your tough migraines. new bayer migraine formula. in a triple action formula to relieve your tough migraines. ♪ atmix of energies.ve the world needs a broader that's why we're supplying natural gas to generate cleaner electricity... that has around 50% fewer co2 emissions than coal. and it's also why, with our partner in brazil, shell is producing ethanol - a biofuel made from renewable sugarcane. >>a minute, mom! let's broaden the world's energy mix. let's go.

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diets are ideal. eat good carbs in the right amounts. when you do so according to the study, you could be burning more calories and be healthier at same time. what are good carbs? basically carbohydrates come from a variety of foods, not just breads and starches. good carbs come from whole fruits and vegetables, all different colors, and you want to make sure half of your plate is fruits and vegetables. good carbs come from whole gr z grains. try to get them in the least processed form possible. good carbs come from beans, which are wonderful source of protein as well as fiber. another source of good carbs, low fat dairy. enjoy your carbs, just do it right. >> talk back question today, what would you ask the candidates in tonight's debate from chanel, governor romney, how do you propose to reduce the debt without raising revenue.